To run flights out of major airports, airlines bid on the best arrival and departure times. Good slots can cost tens of millions of dollars, and if you don’t use your slots, you lose them. So amid tanking flight demands due to the coronavirus pandemic, airlines have kept plane running anyways even if there’s nobody (or barely anybody) on board. For the climate, that’s a travesty: planes can burn five gallons of jet fuel per mile of flight, releasing tons of carbon and other greenhouse gases.

Federal health officials have warned older people and people with chronic, underlying health conditions to avoid non-essential air travel. And according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, if an airline cancels your flight, you will definitely be eligible for a full refund.

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The coronavirus outbreak is causing demand for flights to plummet dramatically. Jet Blue has seen a demand drop even more than it did in the wake of 9/11. This isn’t just bad for airline companies—but really, who cares about airline CEOs?—but also for airline workers, who are facing layoffs. Policymakers should make sure they’re protected. Again, maybe governments should ensure they get paid instead of weighing bailing out fracking billionaires.